Losing motivation

Firstly - well done for losing 3st! Amazing. Take a moment to think about that and acknowledge your achievements. You are capable of doing this. You’ve proven it. Now you just need a change of strategy; a change of scene - just like getting a new haircut. Some ideas:

1. Reduce the items you are spending your energy/motivation on. You say that you dread planning meals - well stop doing it. By now, you should have 10 go-to meals you enjoy and find easy to make: for the next month (or however long)just recycle these same meals until you get your mojo back.

2. If you can’t get into the habit of logging your foods in detail on MFP - just put a notebook in your kitchen and write it down. Doesn’t need to include calorie counts. For the next two weeks JUST note down all the foods. Just being conscious of what you are consuming is often enough to make better choices.

3. You dread working out in the morning…a few ideas:
A. can you workout at a different time of day? Or maybe only workout at the weekends?
B. can you try a different form of exercise?boxing, swimming, cycling, try some new youtube workouts or shift to weights/body-weight exercise from cardio or vice-versa.
C. Combine something you don’t like doing with something you do. For example - can you walk with a friend? Can you buy yourself an audio book which you only listen to when you workout?
D. On some mornings - do something really enjoyable - light stretching, rolling, yoga or meditation.
E. Change goals - rather than workout to lose weight, work towards a specific fitness goal e.g. to run a 5k or for the entire time of a playlist you have created; or lift a certain weight/complete 50 full push-ups, complete so many lengths of the pool within a certain time or whatever fits.
F. Last resort - but reduce the days you are getting up to do exercise. If you still have a fair amount of weight to lose, the majority of your weight loss will come from managing your food intake.

4. Set smaller, interim goals - and reward yourself or ask friends and family to help reward you at each mini goal achieved for the next month. Rewards could be asking your family to cook your dinner while you relax in front of a favourite movie, or asking a friend to mind the kids or run a time-consuming errand or DIY job while you take some time to relax. Or, if you have the spare cash, get a sports massage or treat yourself to a foam roller which can feel SO good after a hard workout. I know it might seem odd to ask others to do stuff for you, BUT if you explain what you are trying to achieve and especially if it is for a short period to get you over an initial “hump”, you’ll be amazed at how people will rally round. Sharing your goals will also make you accountable.

Above are just a few ideas. Final word - EVERYONE’S motivation ebbs and flows. The key is to keep re-adjusting and (I believe) never giving up on your goal entirely (it is so much harder to re-start afterwards). If you only do one thing per day which is getting you closer to your goal rather than further away (however small) then you are winning.

Good luck!